Exciting, exhilarating and Exhausting

Whew!! I survived yet another weekend of lecturing at the Creative Sewing and Needlework festival in Toronto, Ontario.

It's one of those amazing experiences that take a lot of prep work and a lot of 'show' time but it's also a great time for renewing and rejuvenate the creative juices. I have yet to attend the show either as a consumer or an artist and not come away without at least one new idea, thought or process. Sometimes I wish that I had come away with only one. ;-)

To those who attend my lectures - thank-you, you are the reason that I continue to get invited back and the reason that I love to do what I do. For the most part what I do is quilting but it has taken on new directions in these last few years. Especially since I have found ways to combine a new passion with an old one - beads and sparkles with quilting. Your feedback and continued support help keep me fired up !

It's also interesting how at one show I can see a technique and see no potential in it and at the next show it sparks a whole new thought process......I'll let you know how it goes and if what I saw in my head works out in reality...if it does I have found an interesting way to get shimmery water into my quilted landscape pieces.

New Kid on the Block
What to write as the first blog in what I hope will be an ongoing process?? Weighty stuff....do I try to tackle the meaning of life? Or do I just bore you with the mundane minutia of my day to day life??
Mainly I plan to tell you about life as a quilter - the ups and downs - the joys discovered and the projects that take on a life of their own....and not always in the direction that you hoped for....
At this moment I should be writing handouts to accompany my lectures at the Creative Needlework Show coming up this weekend in Toronto but I've hit a writers block on my thoughts - and these ones are the ones blocking the way - so I think if I get these words out I can write what needs to be done.....
I teach a variety of quilt classes from beginners through to intermediate but one element remains the same - we are all looking for an outlet for our creativity. And usually the only thing that stops us is our fear of failure or being something less than perfect in our attempts. When did our fears overcome our sense of adventure and wonder?
I was reminded in a lecture that I heard years ago - and I wish I could remember who it was so that I could thank them for waking me up - that we didn't learn to walk, talk or run in a day - so why do we assume that as adults we should be able to learn any new craft or artistic endeavour in a day??
So the next time you embark on something new - remember to be gentle with yourself and to give yourself permission to make mistakes - it's part of the learning process.
I'd like to end with this quote from Albert Einstein who I think sums this up so well,
" It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. "